Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
Cinnabon history
Cinnabon company history timeline
The year was 1985, and Jerilyn Brusseau had built a reputation of her own over the years.
1986 First franchise Bakery, Philadelphia
During the division's second year of business in 1987, 16 more units were opened that filled in some of the geographic gaps.
In 1990 Restaurants Unlimited collected $100 million in sales; Cinnabon generated 25 percent of that total.
By 1992 there were over 180 Cinnabon units in the United States and Canada, more than twice the number in operation two years earlier, which translated into an average of more than one store opening each week.
All told, the Cinnabon chain by 1992 was an estimated $65 million enterprise, although the division only accounted for 25 percent of Restaurants Unlimited's 1992 sales of $105 million.
For years, all Cinnabon bakeries were established in malls, but by 1994 there were 40 units established in test locations that included variety stores, supermarkets, airports, and one unit located in Seattle's Woodland Park Zoo.
In 1994 Waldron envisioned great opportunities for growth, stating there were another 200 viable sites in shopping malls that he had identified.
By 1995 more than 300 Cinnabons were in operation, with expansion extending the company's geographic presence from the United States and Canada into Mexico.
As Waldron scanned the horizon in 1995, he was planning to open at least one new Cinnabon per week in malls, airports, supermarkets, and other urban locations throughout North America by tapping into Cinnabons' virtually boundless potential.
In 1995 Restaurants Unlimited collected $196 million in sales, nearly five times the total generated a decade earlier, but Cinnabon accounted for $120 million of the company's 1995 total, having developed into Restaurants Unlimited's primary revenue-generating business.
The ferry captain on her Bainbridge-to-Seattle route whom she’s known ever since that horrific November day in 1996, when he held her hand and took care of her car after Danaan collapsed and died of a heart attack on the ferry gangway and Jerilyn was already aboard.
Originally a division of Seattle, Washington-based Restaurants Unlimited, Inc., Cinnabon outgrew its parent company and became a separate business in 1996.
The company anticipated mega sales when it opened bakeries in a handful of Seattle-area QFCs in 1996.
In June 1997 the company began testing a much larger baking and coffeehouse concept, experimenting with two units in New York City that served as the proving ground for the company's attempt to develop into a more complex retail operation.
With plans to add 60 more units in 1997, the company was also experimenting with expanding its menu for the first time in its history.
By the beginning of 1997, when there were 350 Cinnabons operating in North America, the company was collecting roughly $140 million in sales, having secured an entrenched position in many major markets.
Cinnabon was bought by AFC Enterprises, Inc. in 1998 for $65 million.
By 1998, Rich Komen was focused on other projects and ready to sell Cinnabon.
2003 Introduction of the first brand presence in stores with: Cinnabon® Lip Balm, Seattle’s Best Coffee®, Orville Redenbacher® Popcorn, Easy-Bake® Mix
In 2004, AFC Enterprises, Inc., sold Cinnabon for $30.3 million to FOCUS Brands, Inc., which is owned by the Atlanta-based private equity firm Roark Capital Group.
In 2004, Cinnabon was acquired by affiliates of an Atlanta-based private equity firm called Roark Capital Group; in that year Cinnabon along with Carvel, Seattle's Best, and Moe's were spun off to create their own company, called FOCUS Brands.
Late one June night in 2014, a film crew descended upon Albuquerque’s Cottonwood Mall to transform its Cinnabon into a tiny slice of Omaha, complete with a food safety certificate from the Omaha health department.
Debbie Rowley, the bakery manager turned Bob Odenkirk’s personal Cinnabon trainer, retired in 2016, after 30 years with Cinnabon.
By Allecia Vermillion Photography by Kyle Johnson 10/23/2017 at 7:01am Published in the November 2017 issue of Seattle Met
There’s a distinct sound when a mall opens in the morning, the soft clank of gates rolled up to greet the day. It could easily be the late ’80s; only the sound of espresso machines at the Beecher’s–Caffe Vita counter (a nod to malls’ current pendulum swing back to local restaurant brands) places this moment in 2017.
In 2020, British retail group EG Group announced a partnership with Cinnabon to open 150 branded stores in the UK over 5 years.
© 2021 Cinnabon Franchisor SPV LLC. All rights reserved.
© 2022 Cinnabon® Franchisor SPV LLC. All rights reserved.
Rate Cinnabon's efforts to communicate its history to employees.
Cinnabon jobs
Do you work at Cinnabon?
Is Cinnabon's vision a big part of strategic planning?
Cinnabon competitors
| Company name | Founded date | Revenue | Employee size | Job openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pizza Hut | 1958 | $7.5B | 350,000 | 8,818 |
| Wendy's | 1969 | $2.2B | 12,500 | 5,145 |
| Subway | 1965 | $16.1B | 5,000 | 498 |
| Domino's Pizza | 1960 | $4.7B | 14,400 | 14,749 |
| Sonic Drive-In | 1953 | $423.6M | 5,000 | 4,718 |
| Buffalo Wild Wings | 1982 | $2.0B | 44,000 | 1,607 |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill | 1993 | $11.3B | 64,570 | 7,550 |
| Ruby Tuesday | 1972 | $952.0M | 32,100 | 7 |
| Red Lobster | 1968 | $2.6B | 55,000 | 2,414 |
| Applebee's Canada | 1980 | $2.5B | 28,000 | 1,399 |
Cinnabon history FAQs
Zippia gives an in-depth look into the details of Cinnabon, including salaries, political affiliations, employee data, and more, in order to inform job seekers about Cinnabon. The employee data is based on information from people who have self-reported their past or current employments at Cinnabon. The data on this page is also based on data sources collected from public and open data sources on the Internet and other locations, as well as proprietary data we licensed from other companies. Sources of data may include, but are not limited to, the BLS, company filings, estimates based on those filings, H1B filings, and other public and private datasets. While we have made attempts to ensure that the information displayed are correct, Zippia is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of this information. None of the information on this page has been provided or approved by Cinnabon. The data presented on this page does not represent the view of Cinnabon and its employees or that of Zippia.
Cinnabon may also be known as or be related to Cinnabon.